Titanic: A Romantic Tale
by evenstar1791
Summary: A retelling of the film.  Character death.
1. Take Her to Sea

**1- Take Her to Sea**

So I was watching the movie with Nakira and got this idea. Here's hoping you all enjoy it. it'll be a bit different from my usual stuff, but that's only cuz there isn't gonna be any angst or torment in it…just fluff and heartwarming romance—hopefully.

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It had been twenty years. He couldn't even close his eyes without seeing her face. She'd saved him, in so many ways, and he was the only person alive who knew she even existed.

XX

It was said to be the largest, grandest moving object to be made by human hands. The unsinkable _Titan_. Sure, it was pretty big, and his fiancée was impressed by it, but Sasuke was only concerned with making sure no one saw that he was on the verge of panicking. He'd been forced to go to Europe with his family and his—of that moment unannounced—fiancée and her family for business and to have a romantic spot in Dublin for him to officially propose to the girl. It was all a sham for business—he couldn't even remember her name half the time.

He went through the motions, doting on her and saying things he knew she couldn't understand but were impressing her because they made her think he was perfect—as was the expectation of his family and their 'type'. Every member of polite society with intentions of leaving Europe at that port—and some of the 'lower' members of society who had managed to get tickets—was getting on. He'd rather be in steerage with the third class passengers. At least they wouldn't have to deal with always making sure everyone saw him as a stuck up bastard with a stick up his ass.

It absolutely amazed him how shallow the people around him were. They all called the _Titan_ the 'ship of dreams', but all he saw was a slave ship come to take him home in chains. Even as he stepped off the gangplank and into the ship behind about ten dogs and their owners—about every three or four dogs had _one_ person walking them—he felt weighed down by chains.

XX

"All right boys, it's the moment of truth." Sakura grinned, looking at her royal flush hand. There were two tickets in the pot waiting for her to win them for her and Naruto. And from the way all three of the guys at the table were sweating, she was about to win it. "Naruto?"

"Nothin'." He folded his hand and looked at her—his bright blue eyes saying she'd better have a damned good hand. She winked at him and looked at the two Russians across the table. One of them folded after yelling at the other in Russian—probably pissed off that he'd put their tickets in the pot. The other laid two pair on the table—deuces and Jacks.

"Oh…two pair…" She said, sounding like it was a better hand than hers. She was freaking them out.

"Sakura…?" Naruto watched her with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, Naruto…"

"Sakura-chan! What are you talking about? What am I gonna tell Ero-sennin? That's all I have!"

"Sorry Naruto. You won't be seeing Tsunade and Jiraiya for a long time…" She slammed her hand on the table and stood. "Cuz we're going to America! Royal Flush, baby!" Naruto screamed in excitement.

"Yes! I'm goin' home! New York, here I come!"

"Not if you're still here in five minutes." A man said and they both looked at the clock.

"Shit! Just get it all in the bag Naruto!" Sakura grabbed her bag and started shoveling everything off the table—cards and all—into it. Naruto grabbed the tickets and they bolted. "See ya!" She shouted back at the Russians—who had started fighting.

She ran for the third class gangplank. "I thought you said you were fast Naruto! Get a move on!"

"I'm goin' as fast as I can!" They got to the gangplank and ran up.

"Hold the door! We're passengers!"

"Have you been through the inspection queue?" The crewman asked tiredly. Sakura nodded immediately.

"Of course we did! And besides, we don't have lice, we're Americans. Both of us." The man sighed and waved them in. They ran in and to their room. She slammed into the room like she owned the place—which was how she always made her entrance—and tossed her bag onto the top bunk. "Hey guys."

She hopped onto the bunk and grinned. "Nice to meetcha. I'm Sakura, this is Naruto." She pointed at the blond settling in under her and the two Russians sharing the room with them looked at each other in confusion. She laughed a little.

XX

Sasuke sighed as he set out some of the art pieces he'd managed to convince his family to let him bring into the staterooms. It was sheer luck that had his 'fiancée' and her family staying in a different area.

"I don't see how these finger paintings can count as art." Itachi muttered, looking quizzically at a particularly interesting piece by Picasso.

"They're interesting." He sighed in response, putting the painting over the fire. "And besides, these rooms need some color."

"What was the artist's name again…?"

"Pablo Picasso." He said lightly. He glanced at his brother to see him shake his head and go back to asserting his authority over the unsuspecting crew members. Sasuke rolled his eyes and headed for the door, finished with the paintings. "I'm going for a walk." He left without waiting for anyone to acknowledge his statement and headed for the main deck—fully intent on spending as much time away from his family as possible.

"Hey Sasuke." Or not. He sighed and looked at the girl. What was her name again…?

"Karin." He said curtly. He wasn't in the mood to deal with any more rich people.

"Going for a walk?" He nodded and she fell into step beside him. Pain in the ass.

XX

Sakura hoisted herself up onto the rails and looked over the side of the ship, holding onto a cable lightly—at some point the hat she'd been wearing had flown away in the wind, but she didn't really care. Naruto was standing behind her, looking worried.

"Look at that Naruto! Check out the dolphins…!" She pointed with her free hand and he looked warily out.

"Oh wow…! They look so small!" She nodded.

"I know, right! You should come up on the rails it seriously feels like you're flying!" She grabbed him and pushed him towards the rail. He gasped and she laughed, stepping back to let him look over. She felt someone looking at her and turned. Her eyes locked with coal black eyes and she frowned. That guy was pretty hot…but he was obviously First Class.

No one in Third Class would be caught dead wearing an ensemble like that—most of them couldn't afford it. Hell, Sakura didn't even own a _skirt_. She flashed the guy a flirtatious smile and turned back to make sure Naruto wasn't freaking out. She laughed at him standing there on the rails with his arms out.

"I'm the king of the world…!"

"If that's the case, then give me some money!" She shouted at him, laughing. "I'm gonna go have a smoke. Don't fall over the rail or anything, Naruto!" She turned and glanced up to where the guy had been standing. He was gone, so she shrugged it off and headed for a bench, pulling a cigarette out of her pocket and lighting up. She sat down and took a long drag. "Man…this is the good life."

XX

_Three days_ of it. The constant masquerade, with the formal meals and business chats. At least off this damned ship he was able to have some form of break from it when he got home. Sasuke finally got tired of it and excused himself from the after dinner brandy and cigars with the men and headed at a dead run to the rear deck. He got some weird looks from the crewmen and the third class passengers scattered on the deck, but no one stopped him to find out why he was running almost desperately across the ship in his three piece suit.

He got to the rail and looked over at the water. He was just desperate enough to get away from everything that he climbed carefully to the other side and leaned out without thinking. He swallowed a little, looking at how high it was. He tightened his grip on the rail a little.

"You don't want to jump." A female voice said behind him. He looked over his shoulder and blinked. The girl he'd seen messing around near the rails at the bow with that blond the other day. She had a cigarette in hand and she took a long drag from it.

"Oh?" He lifted an eyebrow incredulously. She took a step towards him, extending a hand.

"I'm serious. There's always another way out." He blinked and looked back at the water.

"Come any closer and I'll let go."

"No you won't."

"And what makes you think you can tell me what I will and will not do?" He asked harshly. She laughed a little and he glanced at her. She was inching towards the rail.

"Don't freak out. I'm just tossing my smoke." To prove it, she flicked the remains of her cigarette over the side and looked down at the water. "Man…that water's probably freezing or below…" She shuddered and shrugged out of her jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, if you jump, I'm gonna have to go in after you." She shrugged her shoulders and put her foot on the rail to unlace her boots.

"Why would you do that?"

"I'm involved now. I can't just watch you throw yourself into that water and walk off." She pulled her boots off and leaned on the rail. "Like I said, that water's probably freezing or below…not pleasant."

"If you jumped after me, you'd be killing yourself too. The fall alone would kill you."

"No, it wouldn't. If you hit the water right, you'd survive. It'd hurt like a bitch though."

"What do you mean…?"

"Water that cold…" She nodded towards the water. "It hits you like a thousand knives, all over your body. You can't breathe, you can't think—least not about anything but the pain." She shuddered and emptied her pants pockets into her jacket pockets. "Which is why I'm _really_ not looking forward to jumping in after you." What the hell was this girl? "I'm kinda hopin' you'll turn around and come back over." He swallowed and nodded once. She'd talked his nerve away.

He slowly turned and the girl caught his hand. "I'm Sakura Haruno, by the way."

"Sasuke Uchiha." She smiled a little and grabbed his wrist powerfully. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and slowly started climbing over. His dress shoes slipped on one of the bars and he shouted in surprise as he almost fell into the water. Sakura grunted and reached down for his other hand.

He frantically grabbed her hand and tried to get his foot on the side of the ship. His shoes slipped again. "Shit…!"

"Come on!" She shouted over the wind, pulling him up. "Climb up!" He finally found purchase and tumbled over the rail. They landed in a heap on the deck, breathing heavily. He could feel his entire body shaking from the ordeal. "Are you okay…?" He nodded.

"What about you…?" He looked up when he heard running feet and glanced frantically at her jacket and boots.

"What the…?" The crewmen gasped when they got there. Sasuke immediately sat back on his knees and stood.

"Fetch the Master at Arms!" One of the two shouted at the other, who immediately ran off. Internally, Sasuke cursed. Of all the things to happen, they probably assumed he'd been about to rape her. Sakura got up and put her boots on as though nothing had happened.

"This is a bit of a misunderstanding." She said lightly, shrugging into her jacket.

XX

Sakura sighed as the people gathered. There were two sets of adults—obviously parents—a man who she figured was Sasuke's brother, and a redheaded girl, along with the Master at Arms and the two crewmen who'd found them. They'd put a blanket around her like _she_ was the one who'd been hanging over the side of the ship frantically trying to get back up.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Sasuke." The man who she assumed was his father sighed. That was the last straw—especially when the Master at Arms clipped a set of handcuffs on Sasuke's wrists.

"Look, this is all a big misunderstanding!" She said loudly, standing up. Sasuke looked at her frantically and she sighed. "You're all taking things way out of proportion."

"I was leaning far out, watching the water—you know, to calm down a bit—when I slipped. Sakura pulled me back over, embarrassing as it is." He muttered the last bit, really looking pissed off that he'd been rescued by a girl.

"Was that the way of it?" The Master at Arms asked her and she nodded immediately.

"Exactly the way of it. I saw him leaning on the rail and when he slipped, I yanked my jacket and boots off as I ran over, thinking I'd have to jump in to pull him around to shout for a rope." She said smoothly—to explain why she'd been without her boots and jacket when they were found. The reassuring click of the handcuffs being unlocked and removed sounded and she sighed in relief.

"It looks like we're in your debt miss…"

"Sakura Haruno." She said with a smile. "And don't worry about it." She tied her boots and put her hands in her pockets.

"Here." The younger man tried to hand her a twenty and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"So that's the price you put on your younger brother's life?" He muttered sourly. "Why don't you join us for dinner tomorrow night, Sakura? I feel really bad that you had to pull me over like that." She shrugged.

"Okay." She looked the brother over. "You wouldn't happen to have a smoke on you, would you?" He shook his head and she shrugged again. "'Kay." She turned and headed for the bench she'd been laying on when she'd seen Sasuke run past. She lay down across the bench and looked at the stars. "Gah the things a good poker hand can throw at you…" She muttered.

%%%

So yea, it's different from my usual stuff…I think. And mind you, this is only _loosely_ based on the movie. And please, pretend you _haven't_ seen the movie and have no idea at all what's going to eventually happen.


	2. To Making it Count

**2- To Making it Count**

Sorry it's taken a while with this one. I have to be in the mood for fluff…and watching the movie again helps with the mood.

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Sasuke wandered onto the deck, making sure no one who might have sent his clingy fiancée his way saw him. He was looking for Sakura, and he found her sitting on a bench sketching. He looked over her shoulder, watching her work. She was pretty good. She stopped drawing and glared at him.

"You're blocking my light." He stepped back.

"Sorry. You're pretty good." She smiled a little and went back to drawing.

"Thanks." He looked towards the subject of her sketch. A couple of kids playing with tops a few feet away. She was really good—her sketch was depicting them almost perfectly. "What brings a First Class passenger like yourself to this part of the ship?"

"I was looking for you." She glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Really? Why?"

"To thank you…"

"You're welcome." She said flatly, packing up.

"And also to apologize. My family are all stuck up pricks."

"And who's to say you're not like that?" She shot at him. Why was she angry?

"Are you angry with me…?"

"Not at all. I'm just trying to figure out why you're sticking around like this. I'm figuring that redhead was your girlfriend?"

"Her? I don't even remember her name half the time." He shrugged.

"Right…" She sighed.

"How did you know what the water would feel like?"

"I grew up in Alaska." She said lightly. "I went ice fishing with my dad once and fell through some thin ice…" She shuddered. "Worst feeling ever." He suddenly got the feeling she wasn't much of a lady.

"So are your parents on the ship?"

"Nope. My dad died when I was thirteen and my mom ran off with some guy a few months later—completely forgot about me. So I left home and been wandering around ever since." He nodded slowly.

XX

After a couple of hours of walking around the ship, chatting with Sasuke, Sakura decided she liked him a lot. Especially since she figured he had some casual clothes in his wardrobe—as he was just wearing slacks and a loose fitting T-Shirt. He wasn't even wearing suspenders or those dress shoes that had nearly got him killed the night before. Ah shit. She thought suddenly. She was supposed to be going to dinner with the rich folks and she didn't even have a skirt, much less the kind of thing the three women she'd seen the night before were wearing.

"I should get going." Sasuke said suddenly.

"Okay. See you at dinner." He nodded, then looked her over.

"Are you…planning on wearing that…?" She nodded once.

"I don't have anything else."

"Hey, Sasuke." A voice called.

"Karin." He sighed. Sakura almost laughed as he looked at the redhead murderously. She seemed unfazed by his glare and twined her arm in his.

"What are you up to?"

"I was walking around." He said tiredly. "You remember Sakura…?"

"Oh yea…the Steerage girl who saved you last night." Sakura fumed at the term, but didn't say anything.

"Well, I'll see you all at dinner." She said politely, nodding a little and starting off. A woman caught up with her.

"Hon, do you know what you're getting yourself into?" She shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it."

"And what are you gonna wear?" She looked down at herself. "I figured." The woman laughed. "Come on, I think I've got something you can wear." Sakura looked the woman over and lifted an eyebrow. The woman was twice her size, but she went with her anyways.

XX

Sasuke waited at the base of the staircase, watching for Sakura. His brother was taking care of Karin since Sakura was _his_ guest. She descended the stairs and he took a double take. She cleaned up nice—if he hadn't already known she was Third Class, he would have easily mistaken her for just another one of the rich girls. He gathered his wits and approached her. She blushed a little as he took her hand lightly.

"You look beautiful." Her eyes went wide and her blush darkened.

"Thanks…here's hoping I don't fall flat on my ass in front of all these people." She muttered. He actually laughed.

"Why would you fall?"

"Hello, I'm nineteen and haven't worn a skirt since I was thirteen, and I've never worn a pair of heels." She hissed, clearly not amused. He sighed.

"You'll get used to it." He automatically folded his arm to escort her, but she stared at him like he was crazy.

"What are you doing?"

"Take a look around." She did and obviously noticed how others were walking around as she carefully put her arm in his.

"This isn't normal…"

"You should try dealing with this on a daily basis." He gave a little shudder and she laughed.

"I'd rather stick to sleeping under bridges and making my living on drawing."

"Can I join you?" He asked lightly. He wasn't joking, but she took it as anyone else would have.

"You wouldn't last one night."

"If you can survive dinner tonight, let's test that theory." He challenged and she smirked.

"Great. We'll test it out as soon as we get to New York. It might be even more fun than getting you out of this good company." She glanced around for emphasis.

"It's a deal then." He said with a smirk. He saw his parents and headed towards them.

"Where are we going?"

"To meet my parents." He was fully intent on testing her theory that he wouldn't last one night on the streets, whether she survived the night or not, but he was also fully intent on making the evening interesting. "Mother, Father. You remember Sakura?" They turned when they heard him and they both blinked in surprise.

"Well now, you look very nice, Sakura." His mother said cordially.

"I almost didn't recognize you." His father, on the other hand, was clearly pissed. For multiple reasons that Sasuke knew. There was, of course, the fact that Sakura was a Third Class passenger—and therefore in his father's eyes about the same as a pest—then the fact that she was a girl and had saved Sasuke's life didn't help. If there was one thing that injured his family's pride it was knowing that their second son had been rescued by a _girl_ in _steerage_. It made Sasuke want to laugh and dance at their expressions.

"Well, Mrs. Brown helped me out a lot this afternoon." And Sakura handled her response perfectly. Though he was pretty sure that she was naturally humble.

XX

Sakura was surprised that Sasuke didn't seem to notice that she was shaking. She was so nervous she felt like she was about to faint, and she'd never felt that way. The way Sasuke's dad was looking at her didn't help matters—though it mostly pissed her off. She somehow managed to smile and be polite though. All the way up until they got to the dinner table. Sasuke pulled her chair out and she stared at it blankly for a moment before figuring out—by glancing at the other women who were sitting down after the men pulled their chairs out for them—that she was supposed to sit in the chair.

She sat down and winced a little as the corset she'd been forced into made it both harder to breathe, and uncomfortable to sit. Sasuke sat down across from her, next to the redhead named Karin. Then the waiters started putting food on their plates and she couldn't even name anything they were supposed to be eating.

"How do you take your caviar, Miss?" She paused. It was her practice not to eat anything she didn't know what it was, so she decided against trying the stuff.

"No thank you. I've never really cared for caviar much." She lied smoothly—putting on her poker face.

"Sakura, was it?" Sasuke's mom asked her suddenly and she nodded. "How did you come about being in Third Class? You're fairly well-mannered from what I see." She blushed a little, but managed to keep her poker face on.

"I won my ticket in a lucky hand of poker about five minutes before we left port."

"A young lady, playing poker?" One of the men asked incredulously. "Next she'll be saying she rides a horse astride." She smirked.

"And I'm sure you wouldn't believe me when I say this is the first time I've worn a skirt in years?" They all looked at her with disbelief and she could tell they were shocked at even the notion. Sasuke shook his head a little at her and she took a drink from her champagne. Nasty stuff—she preferred hard alcohol to this light fluffy stuff—but she drank it anyways, it was better than nothing. The man sitting next to her laughed suddenly.

"Well, you certainly could have fooled me. I thought you were an heiress, the way you were walking. Never would have thought you were the young lady that I saw last night." She paused, then recognized him as one of the men who'd been there along with the rest of Sasuke's family. And from the way he looked, he was Karin's dad. Recognizing him, and choosing to ignore the implications in his statement, she smiled a little.

"Well thank you."

"You must be fairly strong if you were able to pull young Sasuke back to safety." A nearby woman commented.

"Not really. You're only as strong as the leverage you have." That got a chorus of agreement. She sent a quick, triumphant smirk at Sasuke and he rolled his eyes with a challenging smirk.

"It was very lucky that you happened by then." She smiled at Mrs. Brown.

"I was just standing on the deck having a smoke. But I do count myself lucky. Just a few days ago, I was sleeping under a bridge, and now, here I am. Sitting here, on the finest ship in the world, having champagne with you fine people."

"I think one should make his own luck." Sasuke's brother commented.

"Well that's true." She agreed, meeting his gaze. "Since you can't always count on Lady Luck. But I'm the kind of girl that rolls with the punches, you know? So long as you make every minute count, you can be as lucky as you want." That was met with another chorus of agreement—and a very standoffish glare from the man she was staring down. She held his glare with a smirk and after a long moment, he looked away from her.

"To making it count." Sasuke said lightly, lifting his glass. He looked like he was about to laugh out loud at his brother losing the stare down. Everyone lifted their glasses as well.

"To making it count." They all toasted and took a drink. The rest of dinner passed with light conversation and several staring contests with the two older men from Sasuke's family—all of which Sakura won. Finally, several men stood.

"Well, pleasant as the company of you lovely ladies is, we'll be going." Several of the men asked their female companions if they wanted an escort back to their quarters and Sakura mentally rolled her eyes at the display. Suddenly, Sasuke was at her shoulder.

"Would you like me to walk you back?" She smiled a little and nodded once.

"Sure." She took his hand and he led her to the staircase. As they ascended the stairs, she leaned close to him. "You wanna go to a real party?"

"Gladly." So she led him to the Third Class dining hall.

XX

Sasuke glanced around the crowded room when they got to the dining hall on the lower deck. Loud music was playing—the kind you hear in bars and at parties he'd never been allowed to attend—and the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol was heavy. Sakura led him to a table.

"There you are, Sakura." A blond said lightly. "Where ya been?"

"I had that dinner with the rich folks, remember, Naruto? This is Sasuke, the guy I told you about. Sasuke, this is Naruto—the only reason he's here was because I won two tickets." She introduced them with a laugh and Sasuke automatically nodded. Sakura reached across the table and snatched a full glass of beer and downed it. He blinked and stared at her. She looked at him when she emptied the glass and smirked. "What? You think a girl can't drink?"

"Sakuwa…?" A little boy tugged on her skirt and she looked down.

"What?" She crouched so she was on the boy's level and he grinned.

"You wanna dance?" She nodded and took his hand.

"Sure." She looked over her shoulder at Sasuke. "I'll be back." And she danced off with the little boy standing on her feet. Sasuke sat at the table with Naruto and absently clapped along with the music.

"Hey Rich Boy." Someone said behind him. "Why are you down here?"

"Sakura invited me." He nodded towards her and the guy sat down, putting his elbow on the table.

"You gonna be down here, ya gotta prove you deserve it." He glanced at Naruto, who only laughed and put his elbow on the table, lifting his arm in the same manner as the other guy.

"You ain't never had an arm wrestling match? Little rich boy here don' know how it's done, Scotty." The two men locked hands and Naruto quickly pushed the other's hand onto the table. "Think you can handle the weakling there, Sasuke?" He asked with a laugh. He nodded dumbly and mimicked the move. "Go." His eyes went wide as the man put pressure on his hand, clearly trying to push his hand onto the table.

Sasuke got the hang of it quickly and pushed back, eventually winning. The man walked away, looking somewhere between drunk and pissed off. He heard clapping and saw Sakura standing there with a grin on her face, the little boy gone. She grabbed Sasuke's hand and yanked him onto the dance floor.

"S-Sakura, wait a second…!" She laughed at his obvious panic and pressed close to him. "I don't know the steps."

"Neither do I. Just go with it." He swallowed and let her lead him in a fast moving step. He laughed a little after a moment, actually enjoying himself as they danced.

%%%

Yes, it is to be noted that while this story is only _loosely_ based on the movie, I'm using a lot of the aspects of the film. Which will include some of the final scenes that make everyone cry.


	3. The Last Day She Saw the Sun

**3- The Last Time She Saw the Sun**

Yes, the story is coming to a close. And I'm sorry that it's taken so long for me to write this chapter. I seriously have to be in the mood for fluff.

%%%

"I came to your room last night, Sasuke." Karin commented suddenly, surprising Sasuke. He blinked at her.

"What?" She pushed her glasses up her nose and leaned towards him on the small table on the promenade deck they had to themselves. It took him a moment to clear his head and remember what was going on. Oh right…he was having tea with Karin.

"I came to your room last night, but you weren't there. And when I asked Itachi, he said you didn't come back to the room till this morning."

"It's not your concern how I spent my evening." He said crossly, getting the feeling she was about to accuse him of having sex with Sakura.

"I'm your fiancée, Sasuke! That makes me your wife in practice. If you're being unfaithful to me—"

"Don't assume things because you think you have the right to." He stood.

"You spent the night with her, didn't you?" She pressed, standing as well.

"No. I spent the night among a large amount of drunken Third Class passengers after a fantastic party. All the women and children returned to their rooms." He turned to leave, but Karin caught his hand.

"You're lying. I'm not an idiot, you know!" Sasuke frowned and yanked his hand out of hers.

"If you're not an idiot, then stop acting like one." He stormed away and heard her throw the table on its side. He got the feeling he was going to have hell from his family when she got through with whatever she was going to come up with. But he'd deal with that after he'd cleared his head. He wandered up onto the deck and leaned against a rail.

"You seriously would have laughed if you saw the guy's expression. It was like he'd never lost a staring contest!" Sakura's voice laughed behind him and he turned to see her walking by with her friend Naruto.

"And you got a cool dress out of the deal too. You should act like a girl more often, Sakura." The blond commented. Sakura spotted Sasuke and stopped walking.

"Sasuke…hey."

"Hey." He smiled a little at her and she blushed a little.

"Did you have fun last night?" He nodded.

"Best night of my life. Thanks." He saw Itachi out of the corner of his eye. "Shit. I need to get back." He kissed Sakura's cheek lightly before heading over to his brother.

XX

Sakura touched her cheek, blushing furiously. Naruto laughed beside her.

"He likes you." She glared at him and punched his arm.

"Shut up, idiot! T-That was probably just his way of thanking me for taking him to the party last night…" But the clenching pain in her chest hoped that Naruto was right. "And besides, he's engaged. And _way_ out of my league." She tightened her hand on her portfolio and started walking. "I'm gonna go sketch." She headed for a bench and sat down.

It wasn't long before she saw a couple watching the water by the rails with no sign of moving for a while. She took the opportunity and started drawing them on a blank sheet of paper.

"You really are quite the artist." She jolted a little, barely managing not to smudge the drawing.

"M-Mr. Uchiha…!" She gasped in surprise seeing Sasuke's father standing there.

"Sorry if I startled you." He said lightly.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked just as lightly, letting her face go neutral as she put on her poker face. He nodded.

"Yes. I noticed that Sasuke is quite…interested in you. If you're smart, you'll stay away from him." She frowned automatically, matching his threatening glare with one of her own.

"Oh? I know my bounds, Sir. I don't appreciate being told by a stranger who I can and cannot associate with. I respect that Sasuke is engaged and I assure you, I won't let my friendship with Sasuke turn into anything else." She closed her portfolio with an audible _snap_ and walked away with her head held high.

XX

"I don't know what you think you're doing, Sasuke, but you need to stop seeing that girl." Mikoto said harshly when Itachi had gotten Sasuke back to their staterooms.

"So now I can't have friends? That's hardly fair. I'm nineteen for cripes' sake!"

"And engaged! Having _friends_ is one thing. Associating with a Steerage _whore_ is different!" His mother raged. Sasuke's mouth fell open.

"Just because she's in Third Class doesn't make her a whore, Mother." He headed for the door, but his father was standing in his way.

"That girl is ruining your engagement with Karin." He said darkly. "You will _not_ see her again."

"Like I care about my 'engagement'? You're only making me marry her because you don't think I'm good for anything but being a pawn and you need some sort of good tie with her father's company." Sasuke growled. "If you're that desperate to have the girl in the family, make Itachi marry her. I'm sure she'd be perfectly happy with him." He shoved his father out of his way and stormed down the hall.

"If you don't come back right now…!" He turned the corner and didn't hear the rest of his father's enraged shout. Honestly, he didn't care what the man said. He was fed up with them. He headed for the front of the ship and leaned on the rail.

"Hey Sasuke…?" He looked over his shoulder at Sakura and smiled a little. For some reason, being around her made him forget how angry he was with his family and everything just felt…right. "Let me guess…you just had an argument with your family?"

"Yea…they want me to stop talking to you." She nodded.

"Your father had the gall to try and tell me to stay away from you." He frowned.

"He had no right to do that." She smiled a little and stepped closer to him.

"Hey. I have something to ask you."

"What?"

"You draw from life, right?" She nodded. "I'm curious what you think I'd look like…you know, like I wasn't…"

"You can say 'like if you were poor'. It doesn't bother me." She laughed. "And I'm not the kind of artist that can draw what I imagine." She looked him over. "But I think I can do something about that. Come with me." She grabbed his hand and started walking. He willingly went with her, curious about what she had in mind.

XX

Sakura pulled him to the E Deck, where she was staying, and knocked on a door. Mac O'Brien answered the door and it was obvious he'd been taking a nap. But he was about the same size as Sasuke, so he'd have to get over being woken up.

"Oh, Sakura, what're ya up to?" She grinned.

"I need to borrow an outfit from you." He lifted an eyebrow in surprise.

"I don' think ya'll fit in them…"

"Not for me, for Sasuke." She nodded towards him and Mac looked him over.

"Oh, yer first class beau?" She flushed a little.

"Mac…!" He laughed in response.

"Get in here." He stepped out of the door and Sakura pulled Sasuke into the room. He looked around in amazement.

"Did you know the other people in this room before you got on the ship…?"

"Just one. My brother. The other two are Italians." Mac shrugged, digging through his bag and pulling out a pair of pants, suspenders, and a stained shirt. "Will this do?" Sakura nodded once.

"Perfect!" She handed the clothes to Sasuke and shoved him towards the bathroom. "Go change." He paused, but went in and closed the door.

"So, what're ya up to?"

"He wants me to draw him like he'd look if he was one of us." She laughed. "And I need visual reference."

"Ah…" Sasuke emerged and paused. "Well would ya look at that? Ya'd never think he was from the ritz!" Mac laughed.

"Thanks a lot, Mac." Sakura said lightly. "We'll bring the clothes back later." He shook his head.

"Don't worry bout it. I can make it till we get to America with what I've got."

"Okay then. See you later." She pulled Sasuke out of the room and headed for her own. "We can put your old clothes with my stuff."

"Okay. I didn't really want to go back to my room…not in the mood to deal with my family, you know?" She nodded as she opened the door. One of her Russian roommates was changing clothes, but she ignored him and grabbed her bag from her bunk. She turned to Sasuke to see his mouth open. She laughed a little and took his clothes from him, putting them in her bag and tossing the bag back onto her bunk.

"See you around." She waved to her roommate, leaving the room.

"He was just…and you…"

"I'm the only girl in the room. They tend to ignore me because I don't act like a girl half the time." She shrugged, heading back up to the main deck.

"But still…!" She laughed a little.

"Honestly…you're overreacting. You'd be surprised at how many guys in Paris asked to be drawn nude or even while having sex." His eyes went wide at that and she couldn't help but laugh again. "It's not a big deal for someone like me, okay?"

"It is a big deal though, you're a woman, you shouldn't be exposed to that." She grinned.

"Well when you're poor and live on the streets, you see a lot of stuff you 'shouldn't be exposed to'. Now let's see…" She looked around when they got to the main deck and spotted a bench and a clear space to the rail. It was kind of chilly, so not many people were out and about. "Go lean on the rail there." She instructed, sitting on the bench and setting up.

XX

Sasuke paused, but left the issue of what happened in her room alone—she clearly wasn't as bothered by it as he was anyways, if she was bothered by it at all—and leaned on the rail as she'd told him to.

"Okay…hm…face me and lean on the rail that way." He turned and rested his arms on the rail.

"Like this?" She nodded.

"Perfect. Now stand still and don't look away from me." She then trained her gaze on her paper and started drawing. He watched her closely, somehow excited by how serious and focused she was. And when she looked up at him, the intensity in her gaze was almost tangible and it felt to him as though she was looking not at how he was standing or dressed, but at his very soul. Needless to say, it started an almost unbearable ache in his body and it was extremely hard for him to stand still instead of sheepishly covering his crotch with his hands.

Once, her intense frown of concentration turned into a smirk and he flushed a little. How in the hell did getting a portrait drawn turn erotic? Was it because he had some deep rooted and unexplainable desire for the artist? He knew that he was attracted to Sakura, but he was sure that it was more than the fact that she was unbearably attractive, and this was the first time that he'd had any erotic reaction to her.

The day turned into afternoon and it felt like he'd been standing there against the rail for an eternity before she blew on her page and put her charcoal away. He waited a moment before walking over to her and looking at the drawing. She really was a great artist.

"Thank you." He fished a dime out of his pocket and held it out to her.

"Don't, Sasuke." She sighed, pushing his hand back. Their faces were inches apart and he suddenly had the urge to kiss her. "I don't…want…" She leaned closer to him and he brushed his lips to hers. "Your…money…" Then he silenced her with a kiss. After a long moment, she pulled away from him, flushed and breathless.

She slipped the paper into her portfolio and stood. "Well…I think that they've still got lunch downstairs. I'm hungry." He nodded and went with her again to the Third Class dining hall. It was a completely different atmosphere from the night before. In fact, while there were a lot of people smoking and drinking and dancing, it wasn't near as loud and out of control as it had been after dinner. Sakura led him to a table and they sat down with Naruto and Mac—he was pretty sure that was what the Irishman who'd loaned him the clothes he was currently wearing was named.

"Hey there, Sasuke." Naruto greeted. "Slumming with the rats today?"

"You could say that…" He said slowly as plates were put in front of them and they dug in.

XX

After they finished eating, Sakura took Sasuke to her favorite place on the ship—the very front rails. When they got there, she hopped up onto the rails and leaned into the wind. Sasuke climbed up behind her and braced his hands on the rails beside hers. She'd seen the bulge in his pants when she'd been drawing that picture, but even though she wasn't sure if he was only so drawn to her because he wanted her body or if it was because he liked her for who she was, she still leaned back against his strong chest and tilted her head to look at him.

"I see why you like this place. The view is breathtaking." She nodded in agreement, waiting for him to kiss her again. She'd realized when he'd kissed her before that she loved him. Crazy as it was since she'd only known him for a total of three days now, she loved him. And she hoped and prayed that he loved her as well…impossible as that was. And then he kissed her.

Her heart stopped as he kissed her for what seemed like forever. They just stood there, the sun sinking into the horizon in front of them, kissing each other as though nothing existed in the world but the two of them. Sakura was absolutely positive that she wouldn't care if they kissed until they reached America or even made love to each other right there on the deck. She also didn't care that Sasuke was engaged and should have been out of her league.

Her mind went back to that poker game when she'd gotten the tickets for herself and Naruto. If she hadn't gotten that ticket…she wouldn't have had the chance to meet Sasuke, much less be standing at the front of the ship kissing him.

%%%

Yes, I know the two scenes were out of order and a hell of a lot different than the movie. But this is my story so I can do what I want to it. I also didn't quite think it was a good idea with how I had the family dynamic for Sasuke's family to have him sneaking back into the suites to get a nude picture drawn…and I know from experience that if the artist is someone you're romantically attracted to having a portrait drawn in any situation—nude or fully clothed—can be extremely erotic. Again, I'm sorry for how long it's taken to write this.


	4. NOTICE

Moving to DeviantArt~! Preexisting posts here will remain, but anything new will be found at .com

Stories with mature content (Pretty much all of them) will require a DeviantArt account to view so I can keep maturity filters correct. Go watch me there and keep an eye out~!

I'm doing this to satisfy my own beliefs as there is no mature content filter on . My preexisting stories will also be available in edited versions on DeviantArt, so feel free to read those and tell me what you think.


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